Forerunner
by kingwrench
Summary: Three forerunners who've been in stasis for thousands of years awaken and find the Milky Way radically different than as they had left it.  Can they repair the damage done to it by The Covenant and stop the flood from taking control of the galaxy?
1. Chapter 1

This is just a random idea I had. What if there was one Forerunner that was still alive? That idea propelled me to right this. Yeah, I know, I'm lame. Just read it. And Wolverfrog, I was not inspired by Insurrection! Remember: Though they're speaking Forerunner, it's been translated, including their units of measurement, like hours and inches.

[b][/b]

My mind was at a state of rest. Not a single thought crossed its surface. It was frozen in a strange surreal slumber, untouched and pristine. Then, somehow, in some way, I was quite unexpectedly awoken.

The seal of my Slip Space Pod released, and my eyes opened. [i]How long had it been since I had been sealed inside the containment pod?[/i] Pondering this question, I summoned one of the sentinels that had activated in the room when I had awoke. Removing my combat skin's helmet, I asked the construct how much time had passed since the firing of the Halo Array.

"Approximately one-hundred thousand years have passed since the firing of the Halo Array and our escape into slip space," the Sentinel informed me in it's cold, mechanical voice. "We recently reactivated and awoke you because the construct detected something. It seems that the Ark has been destroyed, and Project RESSURECTION is the last hope of surviving another Flood outbreak."

I was stunned. One hundred thousand years since The Didact fired the Halo Array? One hundred thousand years adrift in Slip Space, while the one safe haven from the firing of the array is destroyed? But the most shocking revelation of all: My people had abandoned their lives in the Milky Way forever.

"What of the rest of the my brothers? Surely this was not the only ship of Project RESSURECTION to escape the firing of The Array?" I feared the response to my question, for I knew I would not like the answer.

"I am sorry, Archivist. This was the only ship of Project RESSURECTION that escaped into Slip Space. I fear this ship is all that remains of this secret operation." Though the Sentinel was a mere construct, it still showed sympathy for my fallen brothers.

"And my crew? Did they survive as well? Or am I truly alone?" Though I still felt great sorrow knowing my race was dead, but if the crew of my vessel was still alive, there remained a chance to bring back my now dead species.

"We are all still alive, Archivist." Turning towards the opening letting into the room where I had awoken stood The Scribe. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders and covered some of her face. Under her left arm she held her combat skin helmet and held the threshold of the opening with her right. Next to her stood The Skeptic, who stood a whole head taller than her and had short, well-kept black hair. I was overjoyed to see my crew still alive.

"This is good news. This means that we can begin Operation RESSURECTION soon…and their might still be hope for our race."

Standing in the observation deck of my ship, I studied every detail of the research vessel I had been ordered to operate by The Didact. Much smaller in size than the powerful Key Ships, my vessel was a fifth their size. It was not meant for battle, but science; the laboratories aboard the ship were unrivaled by anything used by my people previously. Everything was state of the art, even the construct that operated the ship while my crew and I slept. However, my ship served a far greater purpose than mere science; in our hands we carried Project RESSURECTION, and the fate of an entire universe.

"Sir, we will be exiting Slip Space in the next few minutes." A Sentinel had flown in from a higher position in the ship and had come to hover beside me. The Sentinels we were using for Project RESSURECTION were different from that of the standard Sentinels on the Halos. They were closer in ability and design to Onyx Sentinels, able to talk and equipped with highly powerful laser beams. They were also given deployable containment fields for any specimen that might be required for us to study. Another useful trait they have: they work totally independent of constructs; my people learned much from the betrayal of Mendicant Bias. Though they were machines and not as complex as some constructs, they each had basic personalities and identification. This Sentinel was the same one that had been in my chamber when I awoke from my Slip Space Pod. Sentinel B-001, or "Lost Innocence," was the first sentinel created for Project RESSURECTION and seemed to have the personality of a leader figure. His central optical center, or "eye," was a bright orange and was inscribed with runes. He was also one of the strongest Sentinels aboard the ship because later models were given less powerful weapon systems. I personally considered Lost Innocence a friend, even though he was a construct.

"Good. Has The Construct found anything else about this era?"

"Yes." Lost Innocence's optic grew brighter, as if he was considering everything he had learned. "Not only has the Ark been destroyed, but so has Installation 04. If the Ark was not destroyed, Installation 04 could be rebuilt, but without it, we are not only missing one Installation, we can no longer mass fire they array."

"This is not good. Did the Construct detect any flood forms?"

"There were the flood forms on the surviving Installations. But we also found traces of them near the Ark. And we found something else too. We detected something near the Forerunner home world using the Luminaries- it is a Reclaimer."

My heart began to race, and images of home began to appear in my mind. I suddenly decided that the ship would change course.

"Tell the Construct to stop us from jumping out of Slip Space. We have a new destination."

Lost Innocence studied me carefully with his large single eye. "To where?"

My answer was short and simple. "Home."


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2 of Forerunner. Finally! I haven't posted anything in so long! Here it is, PART 2!

[b]2. To Boldly Go Where No Reclaimer Has Gone Before[/b]

As I stared out into the vastness of space, I recalled what home was like. Our shining silver cities, vast expanses of sleek architecture mixed in with humbling nature. Sounds of life echoed through the streets, and all was perfect.

Then The Flood came.

Shutting away those painful memories, I removed my helmet and checked my vessel's progress through slip space. We were almost to our destination. Soon, we would find the Reclaimer that somehow came to our world. Then we would address another, new threat: the resurgence of the flood.

Lost Innocence and the construct had detected small flood spores in the debris field left by the Ark. Nothing that could become a problem. But then there were the other installations. Something had woken up the dormant samples on all of the remaining Halos. Scans indicated that already Proto Graveminds were being formed. Where had the flood trapped on the Installations found the biomass needed for such a feat? And what had awakened them? Only further investigation could give us the answers we sought. And we had to focus on the matters at hand: The Reclaimer.

The tiny, silver and gray orb housing the construct flew into the bridge. Lost Innocence was close behind, studying the construct with a look that somehow showed a great deal of annoyance, even though the closest thing to facial features he had was a single pulsing eye.

The Construct rushed towards me, stopping a few centimeters from my face. The glowing blue-white orb in its center brightened and dimmed to mimic speech, as if it were a mouth opening and closing.

"Creator of mine! I bring news!" Though The Didact had built the monitors, I had personally designed the Monitor and Sentinels of my ship. "We have learned what awakened the Flood and granted them sufficient bio-mass to begin development of a Grave Mind. It is a coalition of alien races known as the Covenant. They seem to worship your kind and your technology. And they believe they are your chosen species to carry on The Mantle. Ignorant fools, the Reclaimers are your chosen species. Why, they even had the nerve to wage a "Holy War" in your kind's name, declaring the Reclaimers heretics!"

"By The Precursors." I brought my hand to my forehead, embarrassed and shamed by the actions of "The Covenant." "What toll did this war have on The Reclaimers?"

The Construct's glowing eye lost color, and it looked down in sadness. "Only about two-hundred million five-thousand remain, my creator," the construct whispered, his voice weak and tormented, "even after the six years since the end of their war with The Covenant."

A lone tear rolled down my face and dripped to the floor. How could creatures that claimed to worship us do such harm to The Reclaimers? It was unbelievable.

Suddenly, The Scribe and The Skeptic entered the room. With a heavy heart, I informed them of the state of the Human race. Their reactions were worse than mine. The Scribe burst into tears, as did The Skeptic, and though I did my best to comfort them, I too felt great sadness. So many dead. And all of it done in our name. How could we continue on knowing this atrocity had been committed by species that worshipped us?

"We're about to reach the Mother World, Archivist," The Construct chirped, and we all turned to face him. It was time to meet the Reclaimer who had found our world. I counted down the seconds in my head. 1…2…3… and then we blasted out of Slip Space.

John awoke to a loud noise. It sounded like heavy boots hitting metal. John then realized where he had just been. Cryo-sleep. Though he had not taken Cytprethaline, a drug necessary to stop fatalities from occurring while in the freezer, he had survived being frozen alive and thawing. But what had happened that he had been found, floating out in the middle of nowhere? Then John remembered Cortana, and his last spoken sentence to her: "Wake me when you need me." Did Cortana actually need him. And just where was he? Wherever he was, he was about to find out. The cryo-tube was open, and through the dense fog that spilled out of the pod, he could see three figures. John readied himself, and leapt forward into the air.


End file.
